Graduate Mentoring Award
The 2020 Graduate Mentoring Award goes to Jacquie Mattis! This award is selected by the Graduate Student Leadership Council and is intended to honor a Psychology faculty member who goes above and beyond as a supportive mentor and role model in students' educational and career development. We received far too many nominations for Jacquie to quote from all of them, but one of her nominators had this to say, “Jacquie has literally changed my life and the course of my (hopeful) career. I count her mentorship as one of the biggest blessings in my time at Michigan.” Another put it this way, “She is the embodiment of warmth and love, valuing every person in their entirety. She never says no, supporting anyone who comes to her seeking help. I love Dr. Mattis. I aspire to be like her someday.” Yet another said, “In some ways she's a third parent, in other ways a therapist, but in all ways a mentor.”
Congratulations Jacquie!
Chris Peterson Staff Excellence Award
The 2020 Chris Peterson Staff Excellence Award goes to Brian Wallace! This award is intended to honor a Psychology staff member for outstanding service to the department and its members by living Chris’s motto “Other people matter. Period.” As the director of Psychology’s SAA office, Brian’s devotes himself 100% everyday to “other people” -- Psychology’s undergraduate and graduate students, our faculty, and SAA staff. His deep knowledge of our department’s teaching history, teaching needs and graduate program is incomparable, and irreplaceable! And this year, it’s probably fair to say that no other single person was more important in ensuring a smooth transition to online learning than Brian was. He oversaw the development of online documents providing advice and resources to help faculty and GSIs with the transition. He helped many instructors arrange to record their lectures. He helped others get additional training in how to move their courses online. He supervised the ramping down of all the service learning courses. He fielded countless Emails from students, faculty, and even families who had questions, concerns, and complaints. And he also played a major role (with his terrific SAA staff) in putting together the beautiful commencement website on very short notice.
Thank you Brian and congratulations!
Chair's Staff Award
The 2020 Chair’s Staff Award goes to Jocelyn Anderson! This award is presented to the staff member who is recognized by the Chair and Associate Chairs for being a positive voice and builder of solutions for the department, and that is definitely an accurate description of Jocelyn this year. In addition to maintaining and updating all the information and announcements on our department website and overseeing the department’s presence on social media, Jocelyn also played a major role in putting together the beautiful commencement website that celebrated all our amazing graduates. In particular, with very little notice, she put together the infrastructure and templates for the web site and played a major role in uploading all the wonderful content. She was also crucial in innovative departmental DEI initiatives and in improving the online reach and impact of DEI resources. From assisting with planning for our virtual diversity recruitment weekend, to helping to launch our This Is DEI profiles on social media and on the Psychology website, to creating a structure for access to DEI materials, she has been a true partner.
Thank you so much Jocelyn and congratulations!
Star Staff Award for Exemplary Leadership
The 2020 Star Staff Award for Exemplary Leadership goes to Kaydee Fry! This award is presented by the Management Leadership Team in recognition of leadership and innovation. Kaydee serves as the Honors Program and AMDP Coordinator in SAA. She has shown exemplary leadership in several ways this past year especially related to student advising. Kaydee quickly jumped into action to create a process for advisors to offer undergraduate students virtual advising appointments to ensure a smooth transition to remote working. In addition, a research staff member commented that "Kaydee has been an amazing adviser to our undergraduate research assistants every semester! She goes out of her way to answer questions and help with registration! Her wonderful work has enabled us to start the semesters with ease and efficiency!” Kaydee also took the initiative to convert the Psychology undergraduate research form to an online format that was engaging and interactive and assisted in putting together the beautiful commencement website. Kaydee has been instrumental in preparing communications for our Giving Blueday fundraising activities. Finally, with Kaydee’s boundless energy as the Chair of the Staff Get Psyched! Committee, staff have been able to enjoy numerous activities throughout the year.
Congratulations Kaydee!
Staff Award for Excellence in Collaboration
The 2020 Staff Award for Excellence in Collaboration goes to Laurie Brannan! This award is presented by the Management Leadership Team in recognition of department wide collaboration. With her can do attitude and genuine interest in the people with whom she works, Laurie Brannan generates and sustains collaborations that improve processes for students, faculty, and staff across the department, the college and the university more widely. She has taken the lead in working with the department’s administrative team to improve communication in ways that allow for seamless support for graduate students among departmental offices. Her work with the Business Office has led to stronger working relationships between staff in both offices, which translates into more accurate recording of student funding and fewer complications for students. Recently, when a late request was made for data to support a training grant submission, Laurie worked with SAA staff and staff on the medical campus to provide the needed information in unbelievable time. Laurie’s strong commitment to working with others makes her a pleasure to work beside.
Congratulations Laurie!
Outstanding Research Staff Award
The 2020 Outstanding Research Staff Award goes to Lara Stojanov! This award is presented by the faculty in recognition of exceptional service in advancing the research mission of the Department. Lara has worked as a project coordinator in Luke Hyde’s lab for the past three years, and in that role manages not one, but two, major R01 projects. She flawlessly oversees the logistics of bringing in around 20 families a month for day-long visits that include MRI and interviews, maintains excellent communication with multiple research sites, and works extremely well with other staff, with students, and with partners at MSU.
Congratulations Lara!
